Samuel K. Byrne
Sergeant Samuel K. Byrne was a Gear soldier in the Coalition of Ordered Governments army who was stationed at Anvil Gate during the siege there, as the platoon sergeant of Connaught Platoon, 26th Royal Tyran infantry. He was married to Sheraya Byrne, and was the father of Samantha Byrne. Biography Early Career At some point in his life, Byrne broke his nose in an accident involving a truck.Gears of War: Anvil Gate pg 172 Siege of Anvil Gate Stationed at Anvil Gate In 17 B.E., Byrne was stationed at Anvil Gate in the city of Anvegad in Kashkur, as the platoon sergeant of Connaught Platoon, 26th Royal Tyran infantry. He began dating a local women named Sheraya Olencu, who served as a translator and supply officer for the garrison. During the first week of Rise, he ate a breakfast prepared by Pvt.Padrick Salton in the main mess, along with the rest of the Platoon, including his commanding officer, Lt.Victor Hoffman. While the rest of the Gears read messages from home, Byrne was the only one not to have one, since most of his life revolved around being a Gear and Sheraya. He and the rest of the platoon listened to the news over the radio, and how the neighboring country of Vasgar was close to political collapse.Gears of War: Anvil Gate pg 94-95 After the Union of Independent Republics invaded Vasgar and Kashkur, Byrne and Pad stayed in the main mess and listened to the radio, switching between the Coalition of Ordered Governments army military net and the Ephyra World Service. Hoffman arrived and asked them for an update on what was going on, and Byrne told him that COG tanks had been sent into Shavad, which was under heavy attack. Hoffman then asked him about Sheraya, and if they were serious. Byrne was surprised by the question, but told Hoffman the truth: he was serious about her, and that she was pregnant. Hoffman then asked him if he wanted permission to marry while deployed, and Byrne said he did, so Hoffman gave him approval.Gears of War: Anvil Gate pg 171-172 Besieged Later that day, a massive explosion was heard north of the fort, along the road to the town. Byrne contacted Captain Ranald Sander, the commander of the fort, and Hoffman, and told them that he had a possible contact there. The road was blocked by thousands of tons of rubble, and Byrne took out an ATV to inspect it, and he and his squad discovered the entire road was blocked off, stranding the fort.Gears of War: Anvil Gate pg 174-175 When Sander moved the ops room closer to the main gun emplacement, Byrne helped him move. He ran into Hoffman, who asked him if he had married Sheraya yet. Byrne told him he hadn't, and that all the Aldermen were going to be too busy to do it. Hoffman insisted he get married as soon as possible, and ordered him to get it done.Gears of War: Anvil Gate pg 226 Byrne did as he was ordered, and married Sheraya When an Indie vehicle column was spotted heading toward the fort, Byrne took out a squad to set up an observation post five kilometers south of the fort to keep watch. An hour after setting up the post, he spotted the first of the vehicles, and reported to Hoffman. He told him that they were heading for an Imulsion refinery, and that they had tanks, APC, self-propelled guns, and several supply trucks, along with a track laying vehicle. He guessed that the refinery wasn't going to put up a fight, and that the forces there were not large enough for an attack on Anvil Gate.Gears of War: Anvil Gate pg 239-240 After an Indie RPG was fired into the fort, killing Sander and several artillery gunners, Byrne took Pad and several other Gears out to try and find the Indie special forces that were in the hills around the fort.Gears of War: Anvil Gate pg 243 They later went back out with a local man who knew his way around the hills to continue searching.Gears of War: Anvil Gate pg 271 When the Indie's began shelling the city with mortar fire, Byrne began moving several small guns up into the cities monastery tower, in order to try and cover their blind spot behind the fort. He contacted Hoffman and told him what he was doing, and assessed the Indie's strategy as unlikely to work. He planned to continue to fortify parts of the city once it became night, in order to move around without being seen.Gears of War: Anvil Gate pg 276 From Bad to Worse Byrne later assisted a group of Pesanga soldiers who arrived at the fort get their bearings of the surrounding are by going over maps with them. During the briefing, he and Hoffman heard a loud explosion form the north, but when they went outside, were unable to see anything, and no reports from Control came in informing them of an attack. He later reported to Hoffman that the baker had reported his watermill had stopped, and that the head engineer, Carlile, had reported that the underground cisterns were no longer filling up. He and Hoffman both came to the conclusion that the explosion they had heard earlier was the Indies blocking the river that supplied the city.Gears of War: Anvil Gate pg 369-370 Several days later, Byrne helped serve food to the platoon in the mess hall, rationing it to make sure it lasted. Carlile, the head combat engineer, arrived in the mess hall and informed everyone that a Corva was on its way to the fort to drop off supplies. Byrne helped Hoffman get security positions set up to cover the helicopter, and took stock of the supplies they already head. He discovered that they were lower on dry rations than they should be, and informed Hoffman that a civilian might be stealing supplies. Hoffman decided to look into it, and then told Byrne that if they got the opportunity to evacuate the civilians, he wanted Byrne to go with them, along with Sheraya. Byrne was silent for a moment, and then told Hoffman that Sheraya would not be likely to evacuate the city, but even if she did, he would not abandon the other Gears.Gears of War: Anvil Gate pg 380-382 Breaking the Siege Byrne later attended a meeting with the remaining senior staff at the fort where Hoffman laid out his plan to break the siege: he would fake surrendering the fort to allow the citizens to leave unharmed, and when the Indie forces entered the city, they would set the area they were in on fire, and set up ambush and choke points to kill any that did not burn to death. Hoffman then contacted the enemy commander and set up the deal, and once he finished, he ordered Byrne to take command of the evacuation and leave with his wife. However, Byrne once again refused, being unwilling to leave while his comrades put their lives on the line. The rest of the Gears present continued to pressure him to leave, but he refused to change his mind. Six hours later, he held his wife and said farewell to her, promising to see her at New Temperance. He watched as the civilians left the fort in order to make sure the UIR didn't break their word, and once he was reassured they were safely away, he began helping to make the final preparations for battle. Before they faked their surrender, Hoffman apologized to Byrne for dragging him into the situation, but Byrne told him it didn't matter. He accompanied Hoffman as they gave the commanding officer of the Indie forces, Captain Benoslau, a tour of the city. Byrne left them at an old office to join the rest of the troops, and once the ambush began, he joined Pvt.Jarrold in manning a Stomper. However, he was shot in the back while manning the gun emplacement. His body was found by Hoffman still slumped over the gun, manning his post even in death.Gears of War: Anvil Gate pg 413-422 Legacy Sheraya gave birth to a girl named Samantha Byrne, and was told stories about Byrne's bravery. She eventually became a Gear herself to live up to his legend.Gears of War: Anvil Gate Byrne was also posthumously awarded the Sovereigns Medal in honor of his sacrifice, which was sent to Sheraya.Gears of War 3: Unbreakable collectible Personality and Traits Byrne's broken nose often made him look more aggressive than he actually was. Byrne was brutally pragmatic, able to calmly look at a situation and understand the consequences that could come from it, including civilian causalities, and not get distracted from his job. Byrne felt a strong sense of loyalty to his fellow Gears. Despite being offered several chances to evacuate from Anvil Gate with his wife, Byrne refused every time, because he was unwilling to leave his men behind to fight and possibly die without him.Gears of War: Anvil Gate pg 415 Appearances *''Gears of War: Judgment'' *''Anvil Gate'' *''Gears of War 3'' *''Gears 5'' References Category:26th Royal Tyran Infantry Category:Characters Category:COG Category:Gear Soldier Category:Males Category:Pendulum Wars veterans Category:Tyran